System and method for processing and treating an agricultural byproduct

ABSTRACT

An apparatus is configured to apply a treatment agent to an agricultural byproduct. The apparatus includes a fragmenting chamber where the agricultural byproduct is fragmented into particles. An initial amount of a treatment agent is applied to the byproduct in the fragmenting chamber. Particles of a desired size flow through a screen from the fragmenting chamber to a recovery zone. A second amount of the treatment agent is applied to the particles in the recovery zone. A regulator regulates the amount of the treatment agent applied to the particles in the fragmenting chamber and the amount of treatment agent applied in the in the recovery zone. The regulation may be based on one or more feedback mechanisms.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to systems and methods for treating agriculturalbyproducts and more particularly to fragmenting an agriculturalbyproduct and regulating the quantity of a treatment agent applied tofragmented particles of the agricultural byproduct.

BACKGROUND

Treated agricultural byproducts, such as treated corn stover and wheatstraw, may be used as animal feed. For example, treated corn stover maybe used as a source of cattle feed. Corn stover generally refers toportions of a corn plant remaining after the grain or seeds have beenharvested and may include harvest residues, such as stalks, cobs, husks,and leaves. Treatment generally refers to increasing the digestibilityand acceptance of an agricultural byproduct for consumption. Stover andwheat straw are typically baled in order to facilitate handling andtransport. Farmers often process bales with tub grinders or otherequipment to produce particles when baled material is used as animalfeed.

Treatment of corn stover may include utilizing chemical reactions tobreakdown stover such that nutrients that normally would be unavailableduring the digestive process can be digested. Treatment of corn stovermay involve combining stover with a solution of calcium hydroxide (alsoreferred to as hydrated lime, slaked lime, or pickling lime) andallowing the mixture to react for a predetermined amount of time.Calcium hydroxide may be formed by mixing water with calcium oxidederived from limestone. In addition to using calcium hydroxide,ammonia-based liquids may also be used to treat corn stover.

SUMMARY

In general, this disclosure describes techniques and apparatuses fortreating agricultural byproducts to produce animal feed. In particular,this disclosure describes techniques and apparatuses for fragmenting anagricultural byproduct and regulating the quantity of a treatment agentapplied to fragmented particles of the agricultural byproduct, such thatthe byproduct may be safely and efficiently converted into a source ofanimal feed.

According to one example of the disclosure, a method of applying atreatment agent to an agricultural byproduct comprises fragmenting anagricultural byproduct into particles in a fragmenting chamber,screening the particles such that particles of a desired size flow fromthe fragmenting chamber to a recovery zone, and regulating applicationof a treatment agent such that a first quantity of the treatment agentis applied to particles in the fragmenting chamber and a second quantityof the treatment agent is applied to screened particles in the recoveryzone.

According to another example of the disclosure an apparatus configuredto apply a treatment agent to an agricultural byproduct comprises afragmenting system configured to fragment an agricultural byproduct intoparticles, a screen configured to screen the particles such thatparticles of a desired size flow from the fragmenting chamber to arecovery zone, and a regulator configured to regulate application of atreatment agent such that a first quantity of the treatment agent isapplied to the particles in the fragmenting chamber and a secondquantity of the treatment agent is applied to the screened particles inthe recovery zone.

According to another example of the disclosure an apparatus configuredto apply a treatment agent to an agricultural byproduct comprises meansfor fragmenting an agricultural byproduct into particles in afragmenting chamber, means for screening the particles such thatparticles of a desired size flow from the fragmenting chamber to arecovery zone and means for regulating application of a treatment agentsuch that a first quantity of the treatment agent is applied toparticles in the fragmenting chamber and a second quantity of thetreatment agent is applied to screened particles in the recovery zone.

According to one example of the disclosure, a method of dispensing atreatment agent to a fragmenting system comprises receiving a solute andsolvent, generating a solution of a desired concentration, anddispensing the generated solution to a fragmenting chamber and arecovery zone of the fragmenting apparatus according to a desired ratio.

According to another example of the disclosure an apparatus configuredto dispense a treatment agent to a fragmenting system comprises atreatment agent system configured to receive a solute and solvent andgenerate a solution of a desired concentration and a dispensing systemconfigured to dispense the generated solution to a fragmenting chamberand a recovery zone of the fragmenting apparatus at a desired ratio.

According to another example of the disclosure an apparatus configuredto dispense a treatment agent to a fragmenting system comprises meansfor receiving a solute and solvent, means for generating a solution of adesired concentration, and means for dispensing the generated solutionto a fragmenting chamber and a recovery zone of the fragmentingapparatus according to a desired ratio.

The details of one or more examples are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features, objects, andadvantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and fromthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

This written disclosure describes illustrative embodiments that arenon-limiting and non-exhaustive. Reference is made to illustrativeembodiments that are depicted in the figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example system for processing abyproduct with a treatment agent according to techniques of thisdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example fragmenting machine forcombining a byproduct with a treatment agent according to techniques ofthis disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the example fragmentingmachine illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a treatment agentdispensing machine for producing a treatment agent in accordance withthe techniques of this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure describes techniques and apparatuses for regulating thequantity of a treatment agent applied to a byproduct. In one example,techniques described herein may be used to safely and efficientlyconvert a byproduct into a source of animal feed. Byproducts mayinclude, for example, stovers, straws or spent grains, such as, wetdistillers grains (WGS) or other byproducts from ethanol or biodieselproduction. Techniques of treating agricultural byproducts may includecombining packaged quantities of agricultural byproducts with packagedquantities of treatment agents. One example technique for treatingstover may include combining a 1,200-pound stover bale with a solutionincluding 50 pounds of calcium hydroxide and storing the mixture in anoxygen free container for at least one week. Treating corn stover orother crop residues with an alkaline chemical slurry breaks down thechemical bonds in plant cells that inhibit digestion. Ruminant animals,such as cattle, can digest grains much more efficiently than the stalksand leaves. Breaking down cellular (lignin) bonds improves thedigestibility. Grinding the crop residue not only improves thesaturation of the chemicals, but also makes the forage more palatable,so that the animals eat more of the forage with less “sorting,” i.e,rejection of large pieces. One example technique for combining stoverwith a solution of calcium hydroxide includes mixing lime, water, andstover using a tub grinder. Combining stover with a solution of calciumhydroxide using a tub grinder may be less than ideal. Such techniquesoften require manual loading of a tub grinder by lifting lime into a tubgrinder, which may result in spillage. Spillage may result in the wasteof materials, and spilled materials may be a potential hazard. Further,the resulting mixture generated by a tub grinder may be inconsistentand/or the resulting particles may not be the ideal size for aparticular chemical reaction, resulting in longer reaction times.Oversized pieces may not completely react with a treatment agent,rendering them less digestible. Too many fine particles may soak up thechemical treatment, drawing it away from the larger particles, resultingin uneven saturation.

Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,228 and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/641,855, each of which are incorporated by reference intheir entirety, describe horizontal grinders that may combine bulkymaterials and impregnating agents. However, the horizontal grindersdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,228 and U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/641,855 may be subject to binding when used to combine stoverwith calcium hydroxide. This disclosure describes techniques forefficiently processing stover for use as animal feed. In particular,this disclosure describes techniques and systems that are configured toapply a treatment agent during multiple stages of byproduct processing,such that the rate and manner in which a treatment agent and byproductare combined may be optimized. In this manner, particles of stover of adesired size may be uniformly treated with calcium hydroxide or asimilar treatment agent such as ammonia-based liquids.

The following description is made with particular reference to thetreatment of stover for use as animal feed for cattle. However, anordinarily skilled artisan will appreciate that the techniques andmachines described herein can also be used more generally for combiningbulk materials with an impregnating agent. For example, any and allcombinations of the bulky materials and impregnating agents described inU.S. Pat. No. 6,207,228 may be combined using the machines andtechniques described herein.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be best understood byreference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by likenumerals throughout. It will be readily understood that the componentsof the present disclosure, as generally described and illustrated in thedrawings herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety ofdifferent configurations. Thus, the following more detailed descriptionof the embodiments of the apparatus is not intended to limit the scopeof the disclosure, but is merely representative of possible embodimentsof the disclosure. In addition, the steps of a method do not necessarilyneed to be executed in any specific order, or even sequentially, norneed the steps be executed only once, unless otherwise specified. Insome cases, well-known structures, materials, or operations are notshown or described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example system for processing abyproduct W with a treatment agent. In the example of FIG. 1, system 100includes waste fragmenting machine 200, treatment agent dispensingmachine 300, and conduit 400. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1,byproduct W is processed by fragmenting machine 200 thereby generatingproduct P. Treatment agent dispensing machine 300 may dispense atreatment agent through conduit 400. Fragmenting machine 200 may receivea treatment agent through conduit 400. In the example illustrated inFIG. 1, fragmenting machine 200 and/or dispensing machine 300 maycontrol the flow of treatment agent through conduit 400. As described ingreater detail below, the flow of treatment agent may be controlledbased on any and all combinations of the following: a rate at which abyproduct is feed into a fragmenting machine, a rate at which afragmenting machine fragments a byproduct, a measured weight or volumeof a product, temperature of reaction in the fragmenting chamber, and/ora measured moisture level of product. Further, the flow of treatmentagent through conduit 400 may be regulated at multiple stages. Thus,system 100 allows for a treatment agent applied to byproduct W atmultiple stages using feedback. In some examples, the flow of treatmentagent through conduit 400 may be highly automated.

In one example, byproduct W may be an agricultural byproduct, such asfor example, corn stover or wheat straw. Byproduct W may be a bale ofcorn stover or wheat straw. In the case where byproduct W is cornstover, the treatment agent may be calcium hydroxide and product P maybe particles of corn stover that have been treated with a quantity ofcalcium hydroxide, where the calcium hydroxide isolates nutrients, suchas carbohydrates, from the stover. After undergoing treatment, product Pmay be used as animal feed. In one embodiment, wet distillers grains(WGS) or other byproduct from an ethanol or biodiesel production processmay be added to the product P, such as before, during or after a desiredreaction. In particular, product P may be used as a portion of a dietfor cattle or other ruminants. System 100 may process byproduct W toproduce product P of according to a desired particle size. The desiredparticle size may be determined by determining a particle size thatfacilitates efficiency for a particular chemical reaction and/ordetermining a particle size that is ideal for consumption by aparticular animal. In one example, where product P treated corn stoverfor cattle feed, a desired particle size may be any particle size withan effective diameter within the range 50-100 mm. It should be notedthat the ideal finished particle size varies according to severalfactors including, for example, type of crop residue, type of animalconsuming the forage, treatment chemical used, and so on. The systemsand techniques described here may be generally applied to generateproduct P having an ideal particle based on a particular application.Product P may be substantially uniform particles of a desired particlesize. It should be noted that while the examples described with respectto FIG. 1 are described with respect to processing and treatingagricultural waste products for use as animal feed, the machines andprocesses described herein may be generally applied to other processingand treatment applications.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example fragmenting machine 200 forcombining a byproduct with a treatment agent according to techniques ofthis disclosure. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the examplefragmenting machine 200 illustrated in FIG. 2. One example of afragmenting machine 200 may be a horizontal grinder. Examples ofhorizontal grinders and the general operating principles thereof aredescribed in detail in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,228 andU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/641,855. Waste fragmenting machine200 may operate in a manner similar to horizontal grinders described incommonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,228 and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/641,855 and may be generally configured to fragmentbyproduct W by utilizing tremendous impacting forces and apply treatmentagents to fragmented waste products. However, as described in greaterdetail below, waste fragmenting machine 200 may be configured tooptimize the application of treatment agents to waste products by usingdistinct application and processing stages. By applying treatment agentsto waste products at distinct stages the efficiency and rate at whichproduct P is generated may be optimized.

In the example illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 waste fragmenting machine200 includes byproduct feed system 210, byproduct fragmenting system220, product discharge system 230, and control system 240. Each of feedsystem 210, fragmenting system 220, and discharge system 230 includecomponents for providing sufficient drive mechanisms and may be poweredby one or more motors. Motors may include any and all combinations ofpower sources and may include electrical motors, internal combustionengines, diesel engines, hydraulic motors, industrial and tractor drivenpower take-off, and the like. Control 240 may control the operation ofeach of feed system 210, fragmenting system 220, and discharge system230. The rate at which each of feed system 210, fragmenting system 220,and discharge system 230 operate may be based on a rate at which abyproduct W may be optimally processed into a desired product P and/orthe total power of system 100.

Feed system 210 is configured to receive byproduct W and feed byproductW into fragmenting system 220. In one example, feed system 210 may beconfigured to accommodate bales of corn stover, such as 1200-poundstover bales. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, feed system 210 mayinclude hopper 212, conveyer 214, drive pulley 216, and feed wheel 218.Hopper 212 may provide an inlet for fragmenting machine 200 tocontinuously receive multiple bales of byproduct W. Hopper 212 may beconstructed of structurally sufficient materials to protect andwithstand the vigorous mechanical workings of fragmenting machine 200.Conveyer 214 may be configured as a continuously moving infeed conveyerand may feed byproducts W, such as bales of corn stover, to fragmentingsystem 220. A conveyer 214 may be suitably constructed of rigid apronsections hinged together and continuously driven about drive pulley 216.Drive pulley 216 may be driven by one or more motors (Not shown).Conveyer 214 may be operated at an apron speed of about 10 feet perminute (5 cm per second) to about 30 feet per minute (15 cm per second),depending upon the type of byproduct W.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, a feed wheel 218 is located at the end of theconveyer 214 adjacent to the fragmenting system 220. Feed wheel 218includes a plurality of teeth positioned about an axis of rotation andis configured to grip and break up byproduct W as it is fed to thefragmenting system 220. In the example where byproduct W is a bale ofcorn stover, each tooth of feed wheel 218 may contact a bale at such anangle to penetrate the bale when the feed wheel 218 is drum is rotatedin counter-clockwise direction. Feed wheel 218 may be driven by any ofthe example types of motors described above. Feed wheel 218 may bedriven in either the clockwise or counter-clockwise directions atvarious rates of rotation. Further, controller 240 may control the rateat which feed wheel 218 rotates. It should be noted that in someexamples, speeds of conveyor 214 and feed wheel 218 vary according toone or more of: a desired particle size of product P, consistency ofbyproduct W (e.g., moisture content, average raw material size,frangibility, and form i.e., round bale vs square bale vs bulk). Forexample, high moisture materials grind more slowly than drier material.Thus, drier materials may be fed at a faster rate than high moisturematerials. Further, since bulk byproduct W is less dense than a squarebale of byproduct W, the feed rate may be faster for bulk than for baledmaterial. As described in detail below, smaller desired particles sizesrequire a finer screening. The finer the screening the slower conveyor214 may need to run. Thus, feed rates may be adjusted proportionally toraw material consistency, available horsepower, etc. to maintain aconsistent processing rate. A consistent processing rate may help tomaintain a uniform application of treatments.

Further, the apron speed of conveyer 214 may be regulated according to aload on motors of system 100. In the case, where a motor is an engine,RPMs begin to drop as the fragementing chamber 222 fills with byproductW. If the RPMs drop below acceptable limits, conveyor 214 may slow orstop. In the case where a motor is an electric motor, this same conceptwould apply to amp draw. That is, as amps increase beyond acceptablelimits the conveyor 214 may slow down or stop. In a typical application,it is desired to have as much material flowing through fragmentingchamber 222 as possible, so belt speed depends on available horsepower,screen size, raw material consistency, and other factors that determineprocessing rates. In this manner, feeding system 210 is configured tofeed broken up bales of a byproduct W to fragmenting system 220.

In the examples illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, byproduct W is fed by afeed system 210 to fragmenting system 220. Fragmenting system 220 isconfigured to receive byproduct W and generate treated product P. Asdescribed above, feed system 210 may perform initial processing ofbyproduct W. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, fragmenting system 220includes fragmenting chamber 222, fragmenting rotor 224, initial inletport 226, screening system 227, recovery zone 228, and secondary inletport 229. As illustrated in FIG. 3 fragmenting rotor 224 is locatedwithin fragmenting chamber 222. Similar to feed wheel 218, fragmentingrotor 224 includes a plurality of teeth positioned about an axis ofrotation and is configured to breakup byproduct W. Teeth positionedabout the axis of fragmenting rotor 224 may be configured to cut, tearor grind a byproduct W. Fragmenting rotor 224 operates to processbyproduct W into particles. Fragmenting rotor 224 may be driven by anyof the example types of motors described above. Fragmenting rotor 224may be driven in either the clockwise or counter-clockwise directions atvarious rates of rotation. Further, controller 240 may control the rateat which fragmenting rotor 224 rotates.

In some examples, fragmenting rotor 224 may be rotated at an operationalspeed of approximately 1,000 revolutions per minute to about 2500revolutions per minute. The rate at which fragmenting rotor 224 rotatesmay be based on the byproduct W and a desired particle size and/or therate at which a treatment agent is to be applied to fragmented byproductW. As fragmenting rotor 224 rotates it radially propels fragmentedbyproduct W along the curvature of the screen system 227. Screen system227, which may include a one or more screens of different sizes, incooperation with the teeth of fragmenting rotor 224, refines thebyproduct W into a desired particle size until byproduct W is ultimatelyfragmented into particles of a sufficient particle size that may passthrough screen system 227 into recovery zone 228. It should be notedthat in some examples screen system 227 may be any system for examiningand separating fragmented byproduct particles into separate groups andmay not necessarily include a screen. For example, screen system 227 mayseparate particles using gravity or centrifugal forces without the useof screen. Thus, the term screening as used herein may generally referto examining and separating into different groups and in some instancesmay more particularly refer to separating by passage through a screen.In the example, where byproduct W is corn stover and the product Pintended to be used as animal feed a desired particle size may be aparticle size with an effective diameter within the range of 50 mm to100 mm. In this example, screen system 227 may include a screen withopenings sized 2.5 inches to 6 inches (63 to 150 mm). It should be notedthat the ideal finished particle size varies according to severalfactors including, for example, type of crop residue, type of animal theforage is for, treatment chemical used, and so on. Fragmenting rotor 224may cause particles of a desired size to pass through screen system 227at high speeds. Thus, particles may be airborne and moving at highspeeds as they enter recovery zone 228.

As illustrated in FIG. 3 initial inlet port 226 allows treatment agentT₁ to flow into fragmenting chamber 222. In this manner, as byproduct Wis fragmented into particles, treatment agent T₁ may be applied to theparticles. Treatment agent T₁ may include any of the impregnating agentsdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,228. Initial inlet port 226 may includeone or more valves for controlling the rate at which T₁ flows intofragmenting chamber 222. As described in greater detail below, the rateat which treatment agent T₁ flows into fragmenting chamber may be basedon a feedback mechanism such that a desired amount of treatment agent T₁is initially applied to byproduct W. In one example, the rate at whichtreatment agent T₁ flows into fragmenting chamber may be based on anamount of treatment agent required to coat or saturate particles of adesired size so that a chemical reaction, such as fermentation or thelike, may subsequently occur in an effectively manner. In one example,the rate at which treatment agent T₁ flows into fragmenting chamber 222may be controlled by control system 240. In one example, the rate atwhich treatment agent T₁ flows into fragmenting chamber may becontrolled using a combination of manual and automatic controlmechanisms.

It should be noted that during the normal operation of fragmentingsystem 220 the amount of treatment agent T₁ applied to the fragmentedparticles in fragmenting chamber 222 may adversely affect the operationof fragmenting system 220. That is, particular byproducts may absorbtreatment agents such that the weight of the particles inhibits therotation of fragmenting rotor 224. In some cases, binding may occur.Thus, in some cases it may be ineffective to apply the total requiredamount of treatment agent T₁ to particles in fragmenting chamber 222.Further, the amount of treatment agent T₁ that can effectively beapplied may be based on the quality or purity of byproduct W. Forexample, high quality stover may be able to absorb more treatment agentT₁ compared to low quality stover. High quality stover can be contrastedto low quality stover in that low quality stover typically includes wet,rotten, or moldly bales of stover which may not be able to absorb asmuch moisture as high quality stover. As described in greater detailbelow the rate at which treatment agent flows into fragmenting chamber222 may be controlled and/or limited in order to avoid binding. Itshould be noted that adding a liquid treatment agent inside fragmentingchamber 222 may be advantageous because the introduction of liquid oftenproduces a finer particle size without requiring the use a smallerscreen size. This is particularly advantageous when a finer particle isdesirable. One key to producing finer particles for a given screen sizeis controlling the amount of liquid dispersed in fragmenting chamber 222and dispersing the remainder of treatment agent to be applied inrecovery zone 228.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, fragmenting chamber 222 and recovery zone 228are separated by screen system 227. Secondary inlet port 229 allowstreatment agent T₂ to flow into recovery zone 228. As described above,particles of fragmented byproduct W of a desired size flow throughscreen system 227 into recovery zone 228. The particles may be initiallytreated with treatment agent T₁ in fragmenting chamber 222. Afterinitially treated particles of a desired size enter recovery zone 228they may be treated with treatment agent T₂. Secondary inlet port 229may include one or more valves for controlling the rate at which T₂flows into recovery zone 228. Secondary inlet port 229 may be configuredto disperse treatment agent T₂ such that a mist of T₂ is present in therecovery zone 228. As described above, particles may enter recovery zone228 at high speeds. As such, particles may effectively pass through amist of T₂, which allows for an even application of T₂ to particles. Bycontrast, if the particles simply fell and the treatment agent T₂ weresprayed onto particles from above, treatment agent T₂ may not evenly mixinto all of the particles.

It should be noted that based on the desired treatment of byproduct W,treatment agents T₁ and T₂ may be same treatment agent or differentagents. For example, T₁ may be a solution with a first concentration ofa solute and treatment agent T₂ may be a treatment agent with a higheror lower concentration of a solute. In one example, where the byproductW is corn stover and treatment agents T₁ and T₂ are calcium hydroxide,the flow of treatment agent T₁ into fragmenting chamber 222 and the flowof T₂ into recovery zone 228 may be regulated such that 15-20% of therequired amount of calcium hydroxide is applied to the corn stover inthe fragmenting chamber 222 and the remaining 80-85% of the requiredamount of the calcium hydroxide is applied to the corn stover in therecovery zone 228. In this manner, the ratio of the quantity of calciumhydroxide applied during a fragmenting stage to the quantity of calciumhydroxide applied during the recover stage may be approximately one tofour. This ratio may be modified based on types of byproducts W andtreatment agents. For example, the flow of treatment agent T₁ intofragmenting chamber 222 and the flow of T₂ into recovery zone 228 may beregulated such that 10-90% of the required amount of calcium hydroxideis applied to the corn stover in the fragmenting chamber 222 and theremaining 10-90% of the required amount of the calcium hydroxide isapplied to the corn stover in the recovery zone 228. Further, asdescribed in greater detail below the quantity of treatment agent T₂applied during the recovery stage may be increased or decreased based ona feedback mechanism. In one example, the rate at which treatment agentT₂ flows into recovery zone 228 may be controlled by control system 240.In one example the rate at which treatment agent T₂ flows into recoveryzone 228 may be controlled using a combination of manual and automaticcontrol mechanisms. As illustrated in FIG. 3, treated particles ofbyproduct W fall from recovery zone 228 onto discharge system 230. Asillustrated in FIG. 3 discharge system 230 includes conveyer 232,moisture sensor 234, and belt scale 236. Conveyer 232 may be configuredas a continuously moving discharge conveyer and may output product P toa storage location. A conveyer 232 may operate in a manner similar toconveyer 214 described above. Conveyer 232 may be continuously drivenabout drive pulley 234. Drive pulley 234 may be driven by one or more ofthe example motors described above (Not shown). Conveyer 232 may beoperated at an apron speed such that P is discharged a desired distancefrom fragmenting machine 200 and the discharge rate is greater than therate at which discharge system 230 receives product from recoverychamber 230.

Moisture sensor 234 and belt scale 236 may be communicatively coupled tocontrol system 240. In one example, moisture sensor 234 and belt scale236 may be communicatively coupled to control system 240 via a controlbus using a standardized control bus protocol. Moisture sensor 234 maybe configured to measure the amount of treatment agent absorbed byproduct P. In the example where byproduct W is corn stover and thetreatment agent is calcium hydroxide, an optimum moisture level ofproduct P may be approximately 50%. In other examples, the optimummoisture level of product P may be approximately 10%-90%. Moisturesensor 234 may be a commercially available moisture sensor, such as, forexample, a digital microwave moisture sensor available from Hydronix.

Belt scale 236 may be configured to measure the weight of product Pproduced by fragmenting system 220 over a time period, such that aquantity of product P can be calculated. Control system 240 may includea display to communicate the moisture measurement and/or weight measureto an operator. The display may include a combination of mechanicalgauges and electronic indicators, such as an LCD display. Further,control system 240 may include either mechanical (e.g., levers) and/orelectronic controls (such as, for example, circuitry, hardware,software, processors and combinations thereof) such that an operator cancontrol the operation of any and all combinations of feed system 210,fragmenting system 220, discharge system 230, and individual componentsthereof.

In one example, control system 240 may include a processor that mayreceive measurements from moisture sensor 234 and belt scale 236 and maycontrol the operation of any and all combinations of feed system 210,fragmenting system 220, discharge system 230, and individual componentsthereof, such that a desired product P is produced. In one example,control system 240 may calculate the quantity of treatment agent appliedto byproduct P based on a weight measurement and/or a moisture levelmeasurement, if control system 240 determines that the quantity oftreatment agent applied to byproduct W is either too high or low,control system 240 may increase or decrease the rate at which eitherT₁flows into fragmenting chamber 222 and/or the rate at which T₂ flowsinto recovery chamber 228. In one example, control system 240 may stopthe flow of T₁ and/or T₂. In one example, the flow of T₁ and T₂ may bestopped, if control system 240 determines particles are not flowing intorecovery zone 228. In one example, control system 240 may control theflow of T₁ and T₂ by controlling one or more valves of initial inletport 226 and/or secondary inlet port 229. Further, as described ingreater detail below with respect to FIG. 4 control system 240 maycontrol the rate at which a treatment agents are produced, theconcentration of treatment agents, and the rate at which a treatmentagents are pumped to fragmenting system 200 via conduit 400. In thismanner, fragmenting machine 200 represents an example of a fragmentingmachine configured to fragment an agricultural byproduct into particlesin a fragmenting chamber, screen the particles such that particles of adesired size flow from the fragmenting chamber to a recovery zone, andregulate an application of a treatment agent such that a first quantityof the treatment agent is applied to particles in the fragmentingchamber and a second quantity of the treatment agent is applied toscreened particles in the recovery.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a treatment agentdispensing machine for producing a treatment agent in accordance withthe techniques of this disclosure. Treatment agent dispensing 300 mayadditionally or alternatively regulate the application of a treatmentagent such that a first quantity of the treatment agent is applied toparticles in the fragmenting chamber 222 and a second quantity of thetreatment agent is applied to screened particles in the recovery zone228. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, treatment agent dispensingmachine 300 is configured to produce a treatment agent by mixing asoluble material with a liquid and pumping the resulting solutionthrough conduit 400. The treatment agent dispensing machine 300 may bealternatively integrated with or attached to the fragmenting machine200. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, treatment agent dispensingmachine 300 includes hopper 302, conveyer 304, drive pulley 306, beltscale 308, and pug mill 310. Pug mill 310 includes a mixing auger 312and pump 314.

Hopper 302 may provide an inlet for treatment agent dispensing machine300 to continuously receive a soluble material. In one example, thesoluble material may be calcium oxide or lime. Hopper 302 may beconstructed such that it has a volume to hold a sufficient amount ofmaterial while having a height that facilitates ergonomic loading of thematerial into the hopper 302. Conveyer 304 may be configured as acontinuously moving conveyer and may meter the rate at which a materialis fed into pug mill 310. Conveyer 304 may include an apron that iscontinuously driven about drive pulley 306. Drive pulley 306 may bedriven by one or more of the example motors described above (Not shown).Further, the apron speed of conveyor 304 may be controlled based onmeasurements taken at any stage of the process performed by the system100. For example, the apron speed of conveyor 304 may be based onmeasurements from moisture sensor 234 and/or belt scale 236. Further, asillustrated in FIG. 4, treatment agent dispensing machine 300 includesbelt scale 308. The apron speed of conveyor 304 may be controller basedon the rate at which material is being fed into pug mill 310 based on ameasurement determined by belt scale 308. Belt scale 308 may be similarto belt scale 236 described above with respect to FIG. 2. It should benoted that the conveyer 304 may be communicatively coupled (e.g.,through wired or wireless electronic communication techniques) to alocal controller (not shown) and/or control system 240, such that theapron speed of conveyor 304 may be controlled.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, pug mill 310 is located below conveyer 304. Asconveyer 304 meters material, such as lime, material falls into pug mill310. Pug mill 310 may be configured to continuously receive a liquid,such as water. Mixing auger 312 may be configured to rotate about anaxis such that a material dissolves with the received liquid therebycreating a solution of a desired concentration. As illustrated in FIG.4, pug mill 310 includes a pump 314 coupled to conduit 400. Pump 314 isconfigured to pump a solution of a desired concentration to fragmentingsystem 200. Pump 314 may include any pump configured to pump a volume ofa solution to fragmenting system 200 at a rate according to a desiredtreatment application. For example, pump 314 may be configured to pump avolume solution including 50 pounds of calcium hydroxide base on a rateat which fragmenting system 200 fragments and treats a 1,200-poundstover bale with the solution. It should be noted that, similar toconveyer 304, mixing auger 312 and pump 314 may be controlled by a localcontroller and/or control system 240 based on measurements taken at anystage of the process performed by the system 100. Further, it should benoted that while conduit 400 is illustrated split as two distinctconduits at pug mill 314, the splitting of conduit 400 may occuranywhere along the path between treatment agent dispensing machine 300and initial inlet port 226 and secondary inlet port 229. Further, pugmill 314 may include valves that regulate the flow of T₁ and T₂ includefragmenting chamber 222 and recovery zone 228.

In this manner, system 100 represents an example of a system configuredto fragment an agricultural byproduct into a particles in a fragmentingchamber, screen the particles such that particles of a desired size flowfrom the fragmenting chamber to a recovery zone, and regulatingapplication of a treatment agent such that a first quantity of thetreatment agent is applied to the particles in the fragmenting chamberand a second quantity of the treatment agent is applied to the screenedparticles in the recovery zone.

Where a range of values is provided, it is understood that eachintervening value, to the tenth of the unit of the lower limit unlessthe context clearly dictates otherwise, between the upper and lowerlimit of that range and any other stated or intervening value in thatstated range is encompassed within the disclosure. The upper and lowerlimits of these smaller ranges which may independently be included inthe smaller ranges are also encompassed within the disclosure, subjectto any specifically excluded limit in the stated range. Where the statedrange includes one or both of the limits, ranges excluding either bothof those included limits are also included in the disclosure.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this disclosure belong. Although any methods andmaterials similar or equivalent to those described herein can also beused in the practice or testing of the disclosure, the preferred methodsand materials are now described. All patents and publications mentionedherein, including those cited in the Background of the application, arehereby incorporated by reference to disclose and described the methodsand/or materials in connection with which the publications are cited.

The publications discussed herein are provided solely for theirdisclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. Nothingherein is to be construed as an admission that the present disclosureare not entitled to antedate such publication by virtue of priorinvention. Further, the dates of publication provided may be differentfrom the actual publication dates which may need to be independentlyconfirmed.

Other embodiments of the present disclosure are possible. Although thedescription above contains much specificity, these should not beconstrued as limiting the scope of the disclosure, but as merelyproviding illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodimentsof this disclosure. It is also contemplated that various combinations orsub-combinations of the specific features and aspects of the embodimentsmay be made and still fall within the scope of this disclosure. Itshould be understood that various features and aspects of the disclosedembodiments can be combined with or substituted for one another in orderto form various embodiments. Thus, it is intended that the scope of atleast some of the present disclosure should not be limited by theparticular disclosed embodiments described above.

Thus the scope of this disclosure should be determined by the appendedclaims and their legal equivalents. Therefore, it will be appreciatedthat the scope of the present disclosure fully encompasses otherembodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art, andthat the scope of the present disclosure is accordingly to be limited bynothing other than the appended claims, in which reference to an elementin the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unlessexplicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” All structural,chemical, and functional equivalents to the elements of theabove-described preferred embodiment that are known to those of ordinaryskill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and areintended to be encompassed by the present claims. Moreover, it is notnecessary for a device or method to address each and every problemsought to be solved by the present disclosure, for it to be encompassedby the present claims. Furthermore, no element, component, or methodstep in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the publicregardless of whether the element, component, or method step isexplicitly recited in the claims.

The foregoing description of various preferred embodiments of thedisclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit thedisclosure to the precise embodiments, and obviously many modificationsand variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The exampleembodiments, as described above, were chosen and described in order tobest explain the principles of the disclosure and its practicalapplication to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilizethe disclosure in various embodiments and with various modifications asare suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that thescope of the disclosure be defined by the claims appended hereto

Various examples have been described. These and other examples arewithin the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of applying a treatment agent to anagricultural byproduct, the method comprising: fragmenting a materialinto particles in a fragmenting chamber; screening the particles suchthat particles of a desired size flow from the fragmenting chamber to arecovery zone; and regulating an application of a treatment agent suchthat a first quantity of the treatment agent is applied to particles inthe fragmenting chamber and a second quantity of the treatment agent isapplied to screened particles in the recovery zone.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein regulating the application includes dispensing thetreatment agent in the fragmenting chamber and the recovery zone at aratio of approximately one to four.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinthe material comprises an agricultural byproduct.
 4. The method of claim3, wherein the screened particles have an effective diameter ofapproximately 50 to 100 mm, and wherein regulating the applicationincludes spraying the screened particles with the treatment agent as thescreened particles enter the recovery zone.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein fragmenting the material includes processing the material usinga rotor.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein regulating the application ofthe treatment agent includes increasing or decreasing a flow of thetreatment agent into the fragmenting chamber based on a measuredmoisture level.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein increasing ordecreasing the flow based on a measured moisture level includesincreasing the flow if the measured moisture level is less than 50%. 8.The method of claim 1, wherein regulating the application of thetreatment agent includes increasing or decreasing the concentration ofthe solution based on at least one of a measured moisture level or ameasure weight.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein increasing ordecreasing the concentration of the solution includes increasing ordecreasing the rate at which the treatment agent is dissolved in aliquid.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein increasing or decreasing therate at which the treatment agent is dissolved in a liquid includesincreasing or decreasing a rate at which the treating agent is meteredinto a mixer.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the treatment agentcomprises an impregnating agent.
 12. The method of claim 3, wherein theagricultural byproduct comprises corn stover.
 13. The method of claim 1,wherein the treatment agent comprises a solution of calcium hydroxide.14. The method of claim 1, wherein the material comprises one or more ofparticulated paper, wood chips and fibers.
 15. A method of applying atreatment agent to an agricultural byproduct, the method comprising:fragmenting a material into particles in a fragmenting chamber;screening the particles such that particles of a desired size flow fromthe fragmenting chamber to a recovery zone; regulating an application ofa treatment agent such that a first quantity of the treatment agent isapplied to particles in the fragmenting chamber and a second quantity ofthe treatment agent is applied to screened particles in the recoveryzone; and regulating the concentration of a solution including thetreatment agent, such that a dispensing system can increase or decreasethe concentration.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the treatmentagent comprises an impregnating agent.
 17. The method of claim 15,wherein the material comprises one or more of particulated paper, woodchips and fibers.